1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to controllers, and more particularly to a controller for remotely controlling a desired mechanism, such as a vehicle, a robotic and/or a manipulator system or the like.
2. Background Information
Development efforts for handheld controllers or Operator Control Units (OCUs) often yield inflexible “stove-pipe” solutions for particular applications thereby requiring a different OCU for each application. Additionally, handheld OCUs primarily are designed for better form factors leading to a mere repackaging of traditional interfaces and lag behind the critical, high-level functionality of larger non-handheld OCUs.
This is particularly true for unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that may be remotely controlled by a vehicle operator with an OCU. Existing OCUs, however, are typically non-handheld, bulky, heavy, unintuitive to operate by vehicle operators, difficult to upgrade, and utilize significant quantities of power among other drawbacks.